A quest to improve through slow chess

Tag Archives: Chess endgames

My second game was, for me, a beauty. As I approached this competition I was practicing my Scots Gambit and I was also trying to improve my rook endgames – this game gave me the opportunity to put into practice what I had been learning. The game was against someone I had drawn against at the last ‘Rookies Cup’ at Box Hill Chess Club, also with this opening. Here it is.

I wrote about the ‘Smoking Indian’ a few posts ago in which I played a rook endgame. On Sunday I once again faced the same player and again the game featured an unusual response to my Sicilian Defence and a rook endgame – all in a similar amount of moves. This game felt closer and I was glad to practice rook endings again.

[Event "Sunday Afternoon Swiss"]
[White "Them"]
[Black "Me"]
[Result "1-0"]
1.e4 c5 2.d4 {unusual &#8211; my nemesis enjoys gambity open games and likes getting away from more well known theory} cxd4 3.c3 Qa5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Bc4 Nf6 6.Qe2 d6 7.O-O a6 8.cxd4 Bg4 9.Bd2 Qb6 10.Bc3 {and here I miscalculate with} Nxd4 11.Bxd4 Qxd4 12.Nxd4 Bxe2 {because I didn&#8217;t calculate far enough to remember that his knight would have moved to a position where he can take my bishop with} 13.Nxe2 {so a piece for a pawn} Nxe4 14.Bd5 Nc5 15.b4 e6 16.Bf3 Nd3 17.Bxb7 Rb8 18.Bc6+ Ke7 19.a3 {the end of a fairly forcing sequence} g6 20.Nbc3 Bg7 21.Be4 Ne5 22.Rac1 d5 23.Bxd5!? {I think this was an aesthetic decision rather than the right move and I liked it for that} exd5 24.Nxd5+ {two pawns for a piece and some more open play which clearly my opponent enjoys. I&#8217;m sure, though, that it would have been better for him to have kept his Bishop on the board} Ke6 25.Nc7+ Ke7 26.Nxa6 Rb6 27.Nc5 Rd8 28.Nf4 Bh6 29.g3 Bxf4 30.gxf4 Nd3 31.Nxd3 Rxd3 32.Rfe1+ Kf6 33.Re3 Rbd6 34.Ra1 Kf5 35.a4 R3d4 36.a5 Rxb4 37.a6 Rd8 38.a7 Ra8 39.Re7 Kf6 40.Rc7 Rxf4?? {and I exclude my rook from active play &#8211; Maybe} (40.Re4 41.Rd1 Re7 42.Rd6+ Re6 {although} 43.Rdd7 {with the threat of Rf7 and I think its all over}) 41.Rb7 {I would have to lose a rook to prevent the pawn promoting} 1-0

I have posted a few miniatures and some open King’s Gambit games so I thought it would be good, as we approach the World Championship, to post a long positional game between Viswanathan Anand and Anatoly Karpov.